Camp Torture!
by Jashomara
Summary: This will indeed be the worst month of Tala’s life! The BBA is sending him and fourteen other bladers on a camping trip. You may be thinking, ‘What’s so bad about that?’ Well, his mom has decided that she wants to be in his life and is a chaperone!
1. Chapter 1

**Jashomara-** I have a feeling this story is going to be funny! Did you read the summary?

**Lady J-** Well, they had to have read it, if they're here. So, let the story begin!

**Jashomara-** Also, this is **not** yoai! I hope I don't screw this story up like I did some of my other one's.

**Summary:** This will indeed be the worst month of Tala's life! The BBA is sending him and fourteen other bladers on a camping trip. You may be thinking, 'What's so bad about that?' Well, his mom has decided that she wants to be in his life and is a chaperone! This could also be the trip that everyone finds out his three deepest darkest secrets. And why is Kai being such a meanie head!?

**Pairings: **

I haven't decided all of them…

Bryan x Ming-Ming (Lady-J- Interesting.)

Ray x Salima (Don't worry, Mariah is cool with it.)

Kai x (I'm not telling you, yet. Mwahahahahahahahahahahahaha.)

Tala x (I'm still not telling you. Also Mwhahahahahahahahahahaha.)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own beyblade.

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**Tala's POV**

Have you ever been in one of those situations where you just had to ask: what the heck am I doing here? Or, why, out of all people, me? Well, I'm in one of those situations. This is the worse possible thing that could ever happen to me. I want to just get up and run away, but what use is that? I'm stuck here, on this bus, and next stop: Camp Torture.

There I sat looking out of the window at all the parents waving goodbye to their children, how I wish my mom could have been one. The bus was loaded and the suitcases were packed and in the storage area of the bus. My stomach is doing flip-flops. How am I going to get through this? The bus doors had just closed and we are now taking off. There's no turning back now.

A woman that looked in her mid-twenties with long brown hair came and sat in the seat across from Kai and I. Who is this woman, you ask? She's my mother: Jou Ivanov. All these years of thinking I was pure Russian and she appears all of a sudden and tells me I'm half-Black! Not that I have anything against them, seeing as I am now half.

The bus was now down the road away from the school. I just stare blankly out of the window at the yellow marks in the road. The vehicle was going so fast that they looked more like yellow smears. The bus had to be going at least 40 miles per hour. The bus and my mind seemed to be racing each other. My mind was winning…

_Why, out of all the times she could have showed up!? Why come when I'm beginning to have a semi, almost, kinda-sorta normal life?!_ I growled inwardly.

I've only known her for a month and already she's managed to embarrass me in front of Kai! How does she embarrass me in front of someone who knows everything about me!? Think about how she can make me look around people who know close to nothing about me. I want to scream! I should scream! My psychiatrist has told me many times that it's good way to let out my emotions.

_My psychiatrist is nice…_ I thought, almost smiling and thinking of something pleasant likes strawberries_… I like strawberries_… But like I said, **almost. **Then I remembered I was mad and snapped out of my happy, dreamlike state.

I then put back on my emotionless mask and continued to glare at things out of the window. We are now on the highway. My only hope is that I would regret this, but somewhere in the pit of my stomach, I know I will. I feel the blood draining out of my face when I look to the left and see my mother conversing with some of my peers.

Hey, somebody behind me just said my name, but by the tone of the person's voice, I can tell I wasn't meant to hear it. I don't care if anyone talks behind my back, and I have no interest in listening. It's just… the person is so loud, I'm sure the person in the back could hear. _Tyson_… I sneered in my head.

"…Did you even know Tala had a mom? I didn't…" the navy haired boy stated.

"You idiot, everybody has a mom. If they didn't they wouldn't be hear." Came Hilary's voice sounding know-it-all-ish like always. I roll my eyes.

"His mom is pretty." Salima stated from her position beside Ray, her boyfriend. They were sitting in the seat across from Tyson and Hilary. Salima seems so clingy.

"She's nothing like Tala. She's really nice and fun loving. I met her before I came in the bus." Hilary said unaware that she had just made a certain redhead slightly angry, but like I said before, I don't care what people say.

I'm fed up with listening to their little conversation, Kai's writing something on a piece of paper. As I pay attention to the words, I realize that they were the names of the people on the bus. It had them in groups of two according to the person they were sitting by.

Kai and Tala

Tyson and Hilary

Ray and Salima

Moka and Jou (Mariah and Tala's moms.)

Mariah (She had a seat to herself.)

Ming-Ming and Mariam

Robert and Max (He didn't have anyone else to sit with.)

Bryan and Enrique (They strangely became friends over the summer.)

Lee and Julia

That's fifteen teens and two adults. Salima's dad is already at the camp sight waiting for the us. I sigh as looking over to my mother's name. Why me…

I take it, Kai saw my sad expression and decided to comfort me with this, "Hey, there's no use dreading it now." I looked at Kai. "We still got a whole month to go." I just put my head down put his head down, but I know Kai was smirking.

_Why did I even think Kai was going to make this better?_ Since Kai's not going to make me feel better, I'll find some idiot on this bus to amuse me. Ah ha! Enrique and Bryan are making a fool of themselves while trying to impress Mariah, Mariam and Ming-Ming.

**Mariah's POV**

"Hey, ladies," Enrique started. Ming-Ming, Mariam and I glanced at each other before looking at the blond with raised eyebrows. "How about when we get to this camping sight you, me and my best friend, Bryan-"

"O.k. already that sentence sounds wrong." I cut him off and was about to continue when I hear my mother squeal with joy. If you were on a bus with 14 other children and your mother squeals with joy, do you think something good is about to happen? Not with my mama!

**Tala's POV**

I looked over to see my and Mariah's mom looking at… pictures! No, this was not good! Hey, I saw red hair! I was just about to say something when I heard, "Mama!" everybody in the bus turned to see a very angry pink haired girl.

"What did we discuss before we got on the bus?" she crossed her arms. (Hey, that rhymed!)

"No pictures?" Moka smiled sheepishly at her daughter.

"No pictures." The pinkette said calming down.

"These aren't even mine! Their Jou's!" Mariah gave her mom a look as if saying 'yeah, right'. "They are! You just happen to be in it!"

"Oh, and why am I in the picture of someone I've never known?" Mariah and her mom acted like sisters sometimes, except for when Moka got mad and Mariah was in trouble. By now the whole bus was quiet and listening to their conversation… nosy people… I wasn't being nosy, they were talking too loud!

"You did know her. I use to take you over her house all the time when you were little." Mariah still kept that 'yeah right' look. "I did, me and Jou are best friends. Why do you think we both decided to chaperone?"

Whispers started to stir in the bus. The pinkette looked to her best friends whom were laughing at her, then turned back to her mom whom was sitting in front of her. After calming down Mariah got out a book and began to read. She muttered something about the hopelessness of her to try and fight as long as she didn't break out the bare-butt and fur rug pictures, she was o.k. Wait, does my mom have some of those pictures?!

_Mariah knew my mom? Weird…_ "When are we getting to this stupid camp sight?" I asked Kai whom was getting in a comfortable position so he could go to sleep.

The slate hair teen shrugged. "Probably two or three hours." He smirked again when he saw my frown. "Get ready for a long ride mama's boy." Kai sank down in his seat, putting his knees on the back of the seat in front of him and resting his head on my upper arm. Do I smell cigarettes, I glance down at Kai whom all of a sudden looked innocent and shook my head. Na…

_Some best friend he is! I shouldn't even let him lay on me. No, better yet, I should push him off the seat! Na… I'm a good best friend, unlike some people…_ I sigh looking back out of the window. _Why couldn't I have just been a cyborg?… _he thought closing his eyes and resting his head on the seat…

**Tala's Dream/Flashback**

A black hair 18-year-old stood with her 3-year-old son bundled up in a fluffy blue jacket in her arms. Her light brown eyes reflected sadness as she waited on the steps of a house. Snow covered the ground making it colder than it already was. To add, a strong wind had just blown by making the teen bounce up and down as if that would make the person open the door. The tears that she recently shed were becoming ice. The new ones were just there to make her face colder.

Her red haired son was screaming at the top of his little lungs and already had a cold. His face was flushed and he squirmed in his mother's arms. The black haired girl was very pleased when her best friend finally opened the door. "Jou! What are you doing here." A pink haired African-Russian (Lady J- Is there such thing as that. I know we have African-Americans because I am one, but are there African-Russians? Hm…) came to the door.

"May I c-come i-n?" Jou could barely get the words out. Her lip trembled due to the coldness. The 17-year-old at the door stepped aside granting Jou entrance. The warm house was pleasing to the body. The pinkette closed the door.

"How's Tala?" she asked.

"He's still sick." Jou said sadly as she put her son, Tala, on the sofa beside a pink haired 2-year old and taking off his heavy jacket. "Moka," the black haired Black-Russian turned to her with teary eyes. "My parents kicked us out." She then let the tears run freely as Moka gave her a comforting hug.

"Why?" the pinkette asked, laying Jou's head on her shoulder.

"They said Tala and I take up too much space and that I should be old enough to take care of myself." She cried.

"Girl, it's o.k. You know you can stay here as long as you want." Jou smiled at her best friend.

"Mou-Mou!" both ladies looked to the pink haired baby on the sofa.

"Hey, Mariah." The black haired teen went over and picked up Mariah, wiping away her tears and putting on a smile.

Tala wined and reached up to his mama with pleading blue eyes like he wanted her to pick him up too. His red hair laid down making him kind of look like a girl. "Is someone jealous?" she smiled and put Mariah back down. As soon as Jou tried to pick him up, he snatched away, hiding his small hands behind him back.

"I don't think he wanted you to pick him up. I think he just wanted you to put his girlfriend down." Moka smiled walking over to the 3-year-old. "Am I right Tala? Is Riah your girl friend?" she said in that voice people use to talk to babies.

Tala giggled and turned away from her like he was embarrassed, when really he didn't know what she was saying. "Riah." The redhead baby said looking at Mariah.

"Birdy!" the baby pinkette yelled bouncing up and nearly hitting Jou in the face with her tiny fists.

"Mariah, say Tala." Jou prompted. "Tala… Tala…"

"Tala!" I open my eyes to see my mom staring down at me with a smile on her face. Kai had just lifted his head up and was now yawning. "Time to get up Tali, we're here!" she announced. _That was a weird dream. Gotta remember to tell Kai later._ All the other kids were stretching and yawning too.

Good that means no body saw me sleeping. I hate when people see me sleeping. Now, where's that bathroom? Then, getting up, I just happened to look at my arm. _Ew… Is that Kai's slob_?

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**Jashomara-** So, did you love it? Tell me what you think. If it was o.k. but it could be better tell me and I'll make improvements on the chapter. The first chapter has to be good. So review! 

**Lady J-** Now we're finished making repairs to this chapter. If there is anything else we need to do, just tell us. Review!


	2. To Pee or Not To Pee

First I'd like to thank my homies: **Moonlight Serenity, Bluestray, Yuri-Demonica, BeMyfRIeND4eVA, TsukiharaKitty **for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade.

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_Camp Torture_

_Night One_

_Thought of the Day: What runs, but doesn't walk; Has a mouth, but doesn't talk? That's what Salima's dad asked us, apparently it's our clue to what we'll be doing tomorrow. Can't wait… Note that that was sarcastic. _

_All the girls, except Mariah, were very shocked when we came here. I guess they were excepting cabins, bathrooms and power lines. Nope. All that was here was trees, dirt, grass, bugs and more trees. Hilary's already freaking out because she saw a moth. I can't stand her._

_For some odd reason Ray keeps glaring at me. What did I ever do to him!? Ever since we got off the bus he seems to be trying_ _to let me know he doesn't like me in every way possible, but what did I do?_

_Tala… p.s. I love my hair._

I gingerly place my diary back into my bag and zip it up. I am currently sitting on a blanket with my knees pulled up to my chest and my arms around them. Smirking inwardly, I watched the rest of the kids struggle to put up their sorry excuse for a tent. Kai and I were the second one's to have our tent up, we had to go to wilderness camp in Biovolt.

The firsts were Mariah and Mariam… well, it was more like Mariah. I guessed she has experience with that type of stuff as well. During our one hour of being here, I have realized that Mariah is not the girly girl everyone has made her out to be, but more like the tomboy nobody ever took the time to notice.

Looking up at the night sky, I noticed all the stars. The big blue was a lot different in the forest than it was in the city. Not so many lights to damaged the sight of this big beautiful blanket of stars. I feel someone sitting beside me, I really hope it's Kai.

"Hey Sweetie!" anybody but her.

"Hey." I say boringly, looking at the flickering fire before me.

"Where's Kai?" Jou asked, trying to strike up a conversation with me, her son whom she didn't really know.

"Tent." I answer, not wanting to hold a conversation.

"Why you sittin' over here by yourself?" she figured she'd try again.

"Want to."

She put one of her hands on my cheek and smiled. Is she actually touching me? "Why don't you go over there and talk to Mariah. I know you like her." She teased.

"No! I don't like her." Finally a whole sentence! Even though it was a lie. So, I kind of have a thing for her, so what!

"You did when you were little." She said still looking at the pinkette on the other side of the fire laughing at Ming-Ming being freaked out by a cricket.

**Normal POV**

"Well mom, I don't know if you've noticed, but I've grown up ever since you dumped me at Biovolt! You don't know me, so stop trying to!" after that Tala retreated into his tent with Kai. All traces of Jou's smile had faded. She knew she had messed up in the past and Tala had every right to be angry, but she was trying to make things better. Slowly, Jou got up and walked over to Moka.

"How'd it go?" the pinkette asked. Jou just shook her head with a sad expression. "What'd he say?" She shook her head again. "Don't worry about it. A few months ago Mariah hated me too. Now look how close we are." She smiled.

"Mariah! Stop scaring Hilary and Ming-Ming that (beeping) cricket! I already told you to put the (beeping) thing down!" Moka huffed before calming down and turning back to Jou. "See. We're so happy together."

"Well, you didn't leave her in some crazy facility that tried to make her an emotionless android!" Jou shouted.

"You didn't know they were going to do that. It's not your fault." Moka whispered. "Now let's go help the rest of the kids with their tents."

"Counselor Moka! Where do I plug my DVD player and where's the T.V.?" Hilary called after Tyson put her and Salima's tent up.

"Hilary, for the last time, there is no electricity!" the pinkette yelled. That was the fourteenth time the brunette had asked her about some electrical appliance.

"Well, then where are we going to bathe?" the brunette asked coming over to where the two ladies were.

"There's a bathroom about three miles from here." Moka stated.

"Are you serious!?" All the girls except Mariah and Salima yelled.

"Mariam, I had already told you that." Mariah laughed at the girl's shocked expression.

"Well, I didn't know you were serious!" the bluenette yelled at her laughing best friend.

After all the tents were up, everybody gathered around the flickering fire. Little fire particles flowed up into the air setting that camp mood. It was kind of cold that night so everyone got as close to the fire as the heat would allow… well, except Tala and Kai whom sat behind some people in the circle. The wind whispered to the trees, stirring up some fallen leaves. The full moon shined brightly over them, accompanied by thousands of twinkling stars.

Eleven tents stood in a circle around the teens and adults. The wild howl of a wolf was heard, fascinating some and scaring other's.

"Hey, um… Mr. Salima's dad… are there wolves out here?" Max asked from his position in the middle of Julia and Robert.

"Why yes." A red haired man answered. He was very muscular and looked like he at good for surviving in the wilderness. He also looked much like his daughter.

"Wolves!" Ming-Ming shouted scooting closer to Bryan. At sometimes this seemed like a bad idea, but right now, she was just worried about being eaten. The lavender haired boy looked over to Enrique with a look that mouthed, 'Oh, yeah'. The blond gave back a thumbs up.

"If wolves are out here, should we like, pee on the ground to mark our territory?" Enrique asked curiously from between Bryan, his tent buddy and Mariah.

"That's completely out of line! We'll be smelling urine all night." The Robert protested.

"But it would be so cool!" Tyson jumped up excitedly, making Hilary and Salima have to lean over the opposite way so they wouldn't get hit.

"Tyson sit down! No one is peeing anywhere around where I'm sleeping!" Hilary pulled on the navy haired boy's pants leg.

"O.k. then, all in favor of marking our territory raise their hand!" he shouted. Bryan, Enrique, Max, Lee and Tyson raised their hands. "All opposed!" Mariam, Ming-Ming, Salima, Ray, Mariah, Hilary, Robert and Julia raised their hands.

"Looks like they'll be no peeing!" James, Salima's dad, announced.

"Oh come on! Kai and Tala didn't vote! Neither did the adults!" Enrique pointed out. "The only reason Ray voted 'no' is because Salima did!"

"O.k. Kai, Tala, your call." Jou decided to step into the situation, noting that they were voting on whether to pee on the ground or not. Sounds kind of dumb when you say it like that.

"Come one Kai. Say yes, be a man!" Bryan urged one of his good friends.

"No Kai, you're still a boy! Be young while you can!" Julia shouted from between Lee and Max.

_Do these idiots really expect me to vote on whether they should urinate around my sleep place? How stupid can this get? O.k. I'll play. _Kai thought.

"I vote no." he voted.

"Come on Kai, don't be such a pussy." Bryan said and then when he saw Jou glaring at him as if to say, 'Watch your mouth before I clean it out with lake water.' He said, "Cat, pussy cat." He then fixed his eyes on the ground. Kai would get him back for that comment later.

"But it would be so cool!" Enrique yelled in defeat.

Kai sat in Indian style with his eyes closed, while Tala sat with his legs crossed examining a strand of his hair.

"Why don't y'all come closer to the fire?" Hilary suggested wanting Kai to notice her.

"Why don't you go jump off a cliff." Kai said harshly in his cool Kai way.

"Kai don't be mean!" Moka shouted at him when she saw Hilary's hurt expression.

Tyson also saw this and said, "Forget him Hil, he's out to crush everyone in the world."

Tala looked away from his very important red strand of hair to see almost everyone watching him. He looked to Robert, then Max, Julia , Lee and finally… Ray. The raven-haired boy just glared dangerously at him. Tala, being a male, got offensive and completely ignored him by looking back to his very important strand of hair.

"Tala, just vote…" before Salima could even say 'no', everybody at the camp heard: Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss. The sound of water pouring on leaves. After a couple more seconds they saw Enrique coming back from behind the buses.

"Sorry ladies and Robert and Ray, but when nature calls, you gotta answer." The blond apologized and sat down back between Bryan and Mariah.

"Well if he went then I can go too!" Max said getting agreeing "yeah's" from other males. A stampede of boys ran to the outside of the circle giving each other room.

"LET FREEDOM RING!" the boys yelled; even Ray and Robert joined in.

"Ew! You guys are disgusting!" Mariam yelled turning away from the multitude of pale and tan butts facing her.

"This is mentally scarring." Mariah stated with her head down.

"Hey you girls. Maybe the boys don't have such a bad idea." Ming-Ming said mimicking Mariah's position. "I really have to go now."

"Yeah, me too." Salima said, still mad at her boyfriend whom didn't stick with her. Tala and Kai were still sitting down though. They had scooted closer to the fire now, not wanting to be sprayed by anyone. They also didn't like the sight of pale, white and tan butts around them either.

"Where do we pee. If nobody's notice we don't have the right _equipment_ to just pee anytime and anywhere we want." Hilary pointed out. "And I have to go bad."

"We could go down by the river." Jou suggested.

"Ever notice how long boys can pee?" Ming-Ming asked still listening to the sound of urine on dirt. About 20 seconds later all flies were zipped and the pale and tan butts were covered and on the ground.

"O.k. now the girls are about to go to the river." Moka announced getting up with the rest of the females.

"Wait! What if the boys try something sneaky?" Mariah questioned no female in particular.

**Tala's POV**

Now all the girls have towels, soap, washrags and extra clothes in their hands, looks like their about to go bathe.

"James 'll make sure none of them get away." Moka answered Mariah's question.

"Why do y'all have towels and stuff?" Max asked. That dumb blond.

"None of your business!" Hilary huffed walking off with the rest of the girls. I really don't like her.

After about 1 minute, the girls had finally got out of sight. That's when Bryan caught on, "Oh dawg! They bout to go take a bath!" Enrique stood, finally understanding too.

"What are we waiting for!?" Ray asked getting up as well. Either Salima isn't the slut I thought she was, or Ray is totally crushing on another girl… or… he could just be thinking with his dick right now.

"Oh, no you don't!" Lee said before the boys could start walking. "My sister is one of those girls about to go." Why is he always so protective of Mariah? Do all brothers do that? If so, then how come Raul doesn't follow Julia around?

"Oh come on Lee. We know how you feel about Julia. Don't you want to see that." Enrique tempted walking around the teen like a wolf to his prey. The Chinese boy looked thoughtful. "We promise we won't look at Mariah." The blond said, even though he had every intention to… but he better not! Not that I care or anything…

"Even though she does have the assiest ass out here." Max said which was very out of his character. I was very shocked, Kai even looked a little knocked. Even though it was clear that Mariah did have the… assiest ass, if you will.

The rest of the guys just stared at him. Silence covered the place. The only sound was that of the crickets. "Well, it's true!" Bryan said breaking the silence. Getting lots of agreeing laughs.

"Well, she's not as assy as Tala's mom!" Tyson said, but as soon as those words left his mouth he slapped his hand over it. What did he just say?!

"That's enough boys!" James decided to stop their perverted conversation, but he didn't stop it soon enough.

"What did you say about my mama!?" I got up from my position beside Kai. My very important strand of hair forgotten. I may not like my mother very much and she is very annoying at times, but no one calls my mama perverted things when I'm around! Every sound in the forest seemed to stop and there was complete silence as I continued to advance towards Tyson with fire in my eyes.

"What did you say, punk!?" I asked again. I can tell this idiot was thinking hard, but nothing came out so far. She may not have been around me my whole entire life, but that don't mean anybody can say something about my mama and not get knocked the (beep) out. No way, not with Tala Ivanov!

**Kai's POV**

Before the navy haired boy could even say anything we heard, "He said your mama had a nice ass." All the boys looked to the smirking raven-haired male behind them. I looked at Tala and could tell he was about to tear somebody up. I remembered when his mom came to visit and how mad he got when Bryan called her sexy. No amount of Biovolt training can take away your emotions when it comes to a boy and his mama.

Part of me wants to let them fight it out, but I don't want Tala to have to go back home for fighting. Then I'd have to go home too (one of the best friend rules), which meant spending the rest of the month with Voltaire... no way! This is my month off!

I slowly got up from my nice and comfortable spot on a hard rock and walked up to Tala whom was about to engage in a very violent, unrated, painful fight with Ray. "Tala…" I started.

"That's enough boys!" James stood trying to stop them.

"What then! What you gone do!?" Ray shouted over all the boys' yelling. The rest of the guys were really being supportive… of the fight, not stopping it. Just as Tala was about to strike…no… punch the living night lights out of Ray, I grabbed both of his arms and put them behind his back.

"He ain't worth it, Tal." I said leading the enraged redhead away from Salima's boyfriend. At first I kept Tala's hand behind his back, but when we were away from the camp sight I let go.

"Why'd you stop me?" the half Russian asked walking alongside me.

"Because, I wasn't about to go back to Russia and be bored by grandfather telling us to train while sitting in front of the wide screen t.v. with 1000 channels and nothing to watch." Surprisingly I didn't have to take a long breath after that. The wind blew making some leaves rustle and we sped up.

"You're not scared are you Tala? Do you want your mama?" I teased. I love getting to him. And I hate to admit it, but we're both 'fraidy cats' when it comes to the dark. Not stopping we looked behind us to see that we could no longer see the campfire and there was no path to follow. Without noticing we had been walking blindly into the woods. Neither of us were worried though, we'd simply wonder around until we found somewhere. Maybe if we weren't together we would be a _little _scared, yes, even the great Tala and Kai have fears.

"Wait Kai, let's stop for a second." Tala stopped walking grabbing me by the shoulder. I gave him the 'Why?' look. "I have to pee." The redhead said simply. I sighed as Tala walked over to a bush, but kind of followed him over to it. I didn't look though!

**Tala's POV**

"You're not scared are you Kai?" I got Kai back from before. He knows he's afraid of the dark. I am now following Kai's eyes to see what he's looking at. He looks kind of scared… more than usual. Kai just glared at the darkness before him and looked up at a creepy tree. The forest seemed to be alive at night. He looked into a hole in the tree and saw two eyes glaring back at him. Our ears picked up the sound of something moving through the leaves on the other side of us and we looked down to see the shadow of some animal crawling away. We were trapped in a box of darkness.

The spot we were in only seemed to stretch to a certain extent after a couple of yards all you could see was darkness. Kai looked to the left of us and looked like he saw something really scary. I didn't want to look. "Tala, are you done yet?" he asked sounding impatient, but that wasn't the real reason he asked it and I knew.

I zipped up my pants and said, "Yeah." Then we kept walking in their same direction; away from the camp spot.

"When should we head back to camp?" Kai said looking at me looking at my very important strand of hair after about five minutes of walking.

"Wha- Whoa!" I said looking at something with his eyes wide. Oh my freakin' gosh! I can't believe what I'm seeing! Is this real or did I fall asleep walking!

"What are you-" Kai stopped when he saw what I was looking at.

"Kai, I think we found the river." I said amazed and not able to look away. Wow… no other words can express how I was feeling at the moment.

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What do you think they see? To give you a hint, remember who was at river and why. Yeah… now you get. 

Anyway, tell me what you thought of the chapter and Tala's very important strand of hair. Yeah… it's that important.

Happy Valentine's Day!


	3. Afraid To Get Wet?

Jashomara: Thanks to: **Bluestray**, **Moonlight Serenity**, **BeMyfRIeND4eVA, Anna,:)** and** Demoness-MarlstonWells69ner **for reviewing! I'm glad you guys/girls thought the chapter was funny.

Lady J: Sorry about the wait. These days have been kind of busy.

Disclaimer: We do not own beyblade. We do own Moka, Jou and James.

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_Camp Torture _

_Morning Time _

_Thought of the day: Why do girls have boobs? Are they there just to tease us guys or what?_

_Last night, oh man! Let's just say, me and Kai saw some things we shouldn't have… and I liked it! Kai did too, even if he won't admit it. I know it sounds perverted, but I'm a guy… a straight guy! It's only in my nature. Plus, we didn't mean to get lost in the woods, walk for along time and stumble upon the __**exact**__ part of the river the girls just happened to be bathing in. _

_Man, Mariah was hot!… Don't look at me that way, it's my diary and my personal thoughts. Personally, I think Mariah has a bangin' body! Wait! What am I writing! I don't know who I am anymore! _

_Wait, let me check my boxers –looks on the back of boxers- Well, they say I'm Talaver Yuriy Ivanov and boxers don't lie… But, enough of my perverted boy-ish thoughts, back to camp._

_Kai's sleeping beside me. Nobody's up yet, just me and my diary… and the moon. Yes, I know it's early, but I don't sleep for along time when I'm around other people. I feel like someone's going to come in my tent and kill me… I'm very paranoid. Hold on! I think someone is awake. They just came out of their tent and is now walking away from the camp sight. Where are they going? I'm about to follow. I hope Kai doesn't wake up while I'm gone, just between you and me, diary, he doesn't like to be alone. _

_Tala_

The redhead quietly got up, upon not being able to see the figure any longer. All he could rely on was his hearing. He turned off the flashlight he was using, wondering if the person noticed it. Due to the tent surrounding him, he couldn't tell if the person was a boy or a girl. Slowly and silently, Tala moved to the flaps of the tent, careful not to wake Kai, or anyone else for that matter.

As he opened the flap, he was greeted by a cool wind, a different temperature than the one inside the tent. As his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he crept out of his tent and on to the dirt. They were advised by his mom to keep shoes on at all times.

Slowly, he made his way to the space between the tents that he saw the person walk out. He could still barely see them walking through the darkness of the woods. Slowly, he followed, not knowing exactly what he was getting into.

After walking for a couple of minutes, he started thinking that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to wonder away from camp. He didn't even know his way back! And to make matters worst, Kai wasn't with him this time. He was already well into the woods though, so there was no turning back now. He just had to keep reminding himself that the sun would be up soon and if Kai woke up, Tala knew he would come look for him. Deciding that following a person in the woods was a waste of his time, he started to think about his mother.

_I know I was a bit hard on her the other day, but she deserved it! What? Am I suppose to forget about all those years she hasn't been there for me and just accept her back with open arms? Pftt._

Something moving behind a near bush caught his attention, taking him away from his thoughts. His first thought was that it was some wild animal. After becoming less tense, he thought that maybe it was the person from before. There's only one way to find out…

Turning to the bush he began to walk slowly, careful not to make a sound. His whole body was alert and ready for anything. The rising sun gave him some light, which would be put to good use. Stepping closer, he realized that it was indeed a person. Not just any person though…

His mother…

Upon hearing something behind her, Jou turned around quickly. She clutched her chest and gasp when she saw Tala, but after noticing it was just him, she said, "Tala, you scared me! What are you doing up so early?" she walked over to him.

"Couldn't sleep." He said, playing the short sentence game again. But it was different now, he felt like it was possible that he could actually open up to his mom and tell her how felt without yelling. His pride, however, would not let him apologize for before.

"Tala, you're not suppose to go anywhere without a buddy, you know that." The brown haired woman scolded. "Where's Kai?"

"Sleeping." He said a bit annoyed that she was trying to boss him around… well, that's what he felt like she was doing.

"You need to come back to camp… now." She added that last word sternly.

Tala folded his arms letting his full rebellious adolescent side show. "I'll go back when I'm ready." He turned his head from her and looked into the lake, which was on the opposite side from where he came.

"Talaver Yuriy Ivanov, I will not have back talk from you. You are going back to that camp right now!" she yelled through her teeth.

"Look who's trying to be a parent." He snorted with his back now facing his mother.

"I will have you suspended from this trip." She promised.

"Good, then I won't have to deal with you!" and with that he walked off. Jou thought about following him, but resolved that it would do no good. He'd just walk away again. Sighing, she began to walk back to camp.

"I'm gonna have to go ghetto on this boy." She muttered under her breath.

Tala only walked a little ways away from where they were, sure that his mother would not follow him. Sighing, he splashed some water in his face from the river. This action jogged a few memories from last night. "Girls…" he said dryly. Closing his eyes, he sighed again.

"I'll preoccupy my mind with girls." He decided facing the lake, but not opening his eyes. "Why can't guys stop thinking about them? I can do it, no problem. I guess that's just for mindless, love struck puppies with no lives…" he was now just mumbling.

"What's so bad about think about girl?!" a feminine voice came causing the redhead to snap his eyes open and look around. "What's the matter? Can't find me?" the voice teased with a little giggle behind it.

"Who are you?" Tala demanded standing up and searching the treetops carefully for any moving thing. "Where are you?"

"If I wanted you to know that, I wouldn't be hiding." Tala could hear the smile on the girl's face. "Tell me…what ails you young one." The youthful girl voice was poorly disguised to sound like an old woman's.

"What are you talking about?" the redhead asked, annoyed that he couldn't find the owner of the voice.

"I've been it this forest of 125 year." A snicker came after that, insinuating to Tala that she was lying. "Only people with troubles will stumble upon this part of the lake."

"Oh," Tala said in disbelief, even though something **was** bothering him. "Then how is it that the girls were bathing here just last night?" he asked feeling clever.

"How do you know that?" the shot the words out so quickly Tala had to replay it in his head a couple more times to understand it. Then he realized he had just dug himself a very deep hole. "How do you know that?!" she demanded even louder.

_How do I know that!? How do I know that?!_ Tala thought, desperately trying not to make his and Kai's dirty little secret known. He clenched his teeth and fidgeted with his hands. "Listen, _old lady_, I have no time for you. I have to get back to camp." Then he stalked off. He figured he'd kill three birds with one stone: If he went back he'd avoid the situation, get back to Kai and find out which girl is missing from the camp, thus finding his mystery girl… whom is probably going to put 2 and 2 together and get 4, thus having knowledge that he did indeed peek at the girls while they were bathing... but it was an accident.

He didn't realize he was now speed walking in some direction. Before he knew it, he was back at camp. Everybody drug their bodies as they went to go brush their teeth and get ready for the day. When he got back to his tent, he came face to face with an angry Kai.

"Morning Kai." Tala greeted with a weak smile, hoping Kai wasn't too mad as him for leaving.

"Where were you?" Kai asked looking straight ahead of him from his standing position.

"I took a walk." The redhead responded searching through his bag for his morning items. "Hey, did you notice any girls missing this morning?" he added suddenly.

After Tala got his stuff they started to walk to the guys side of the lake. "No…" he averted his eyes away from Tala for a moment and then said, "My mind has been a little preoccupied… you don't forget life changing stuff over night, you know." He said taking a breath.

Tala smirked and momentarily lifted his head to see the dragging line of boys heading to the guys' place. "I know that feeling." He said with a dazed look.

"Read your diary… Mariah?" Kai read Tala's diary all the time so it was no big deal. It wasn't like Tala wasn't going to tell him anyway.

"Read your mind… Mariam?" The redhead grinned widely when the slate haired teen blushed. "What's this? The great Kai Hiwatari… blushing?" he grin grew.

"How'd you know?" Kai asked as they had reached the spot.

"Come Kai, I've known you since you were 5. I can tell, by now, when you like a girl." There was al least three feet between Kai, Tala and the rest of the guys.

"I can't believe I'm about to brush my teeth in a river." Tala said shaking his head.

"Hey, guys! What are you doing!" they heard Tyson yell. Before they knew what had happened, Ray, Lee and Bryan were standing at the shoreline laughing with the rest of the guys. Tyson was emerging from the cold, yet calm water.

The two best friends gave a little chuckle. "Hey Tyson!" Kai called to the wet and shivering teen. "Are you awake yet!?" a rumbling laughter from all the guys followed after that.

"O.k. boys." Came Salima's dad's voice. "Put on your swimming trunks and let's get read for some super fun river canoeing!" he announced.

There was another exited 'yay'! Kai looked over to Tala who's face was pale. Let's just say, water wasn't exactly Tala's best friend. Especially, not when any kind of boat was involved.

"It'll be o.k. Tala. No body's going to let anything happen to you." The slate haired teen tried to calm his best friend.

Tala wasn't havin' that! "I am not getting in that canoe." He said determined.

They quickly changed clothes without exposing the lower parts of their body to any other guy, although, they weren't ashamed to show off their rock hard abs and well tanned and toned upper body. So, just tease the other males, they changed their shirts extra slowly. (A/N: They'll take them off when they get in the water.) Tala got a glare from Ray, who had a six pack as well. But Ray's glare was met with a smirk.

"O.k. men!" James said, sounding army-ish. "Let's move out!" then they were led to the canoeing part of the lake.

"Hey James, how about we dropped by the girl spot to see if they're ready?" Enrique suggested raising and lowering his eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure they're already at the spot." James responded pretending not to know what the blond was insinuating.

Tala was really feeling the pressure when he got to the canoeing spot where all the girls were already dressed up in their bikinis and ready to go. He could feel the blood boiling under his skin as he took a long glance in Mariah's direction.

To his surprise, she was wearing a blue bikini with little hot pink flowers designing it in certain places. He gulped, there was no way he could back out. Everyone would think he was afraid.

"Man, Kai. What am I going to do?" he asked nervously.

"I don't know, but I over heard your mom and Moka talking and they say that if the girls agree they might have girl/boy partners." Kai whispered back, making Tala even more nervous. He tried to control his breathing, but there was not a jumping feeling in his stomach.

"Girls," when that word came out of his mom's mouth, he just knew he was doomed. The girls gathered. "We've decided that it would be o.k. to have girl/boy teams if it's fine with you." Jou announce.

"But you can not let the school know about this." Moka added, pretending to be sneaky even though the school probably couldn't care less.

"I'm cool with it!" Salima piped up. "As long as I get Tala!" Tala's head turned to Salima, Salima to him, Mariah to Salima then to Tala, Ray to Tala. "How 'bout it Tala?"

"Um…" Man, I wanted Mariah… I mean, no! I don't want to go at all! "Aren't you going out with Ray?" he asked slyly.

"Yeah, but Mariah's going with Ray." There was a tinge of jealousy in Tala when she said that.

"When did I say that?!" the pinkette protested.

"Girls, girls! We're not saying you have to date the guy. Just get a partner, or we'll choose." Judy finally spoke up.

"I want Tala." Salima said folding her arms.

"I want Salima." Ray glared at Tala as if it was his fault he was so irresistible.

Then, without thinking Tala said, "I want land." Everyone turned their head to him. He mentally slapped himself.

"Oh, yeah! You do have that fear of water, don't you?" Jou remembered, making Tala blush.

"I do not!" he said, louder than necessary. "I mean… I just don't want to go."

"Whoa, Tala's afraid of water." Bryan smiled. "How come you never tell me these things!?"

Tala lowered his head in shame. _I hate my mom!,_ was all he could think.

"Alright, everybody get in a canoe." James ordered then walked over to Tala. "You don't have to go if you don't want to." he whispered.

Everyone got their teams and got in a canoe. Much to Ray's pleasure, Salima gave up and got in the canoe with him. Then he smiled victoriously at Tala. Tala glared back and was so busy glaring, he didn't notice Mariah walk up to him.

"Hey!" she chirped.

Tala, and Kai, whom refused to leave his best friend on shore by himself, looked at her. "Hey?" it sounded like a question.

"Wanna go? Before you say no, I am an extremely great swimmer. I can save you." She grinned widely.

Tala turned back to Kai, tempted to smile and said, "Kai doesn't have anybody to go with and he's never canoed in his life."

"Don't worry, he can go with Mariam. We went to lake camp together." Another smile lit her face.

"Kai?" Tala asked knowing Kai was not going to turn down a canoe ride with Mariam.

"Let's do it." The slate haired teen responded, almost smiling.

"Ok." Mariah said turning around and heading to the canoes. As she was walking, she mouthed, "Yes!" to Mariam whom started to giggle.

As Tala approached the canoe his old fears started backing up on him again. He looked out in the middle of the water where it seemed dark and deep.

"I promise I won't let anything get cha' either." The pinkette giggled, steadying the wobbling canoe for Tala to get in. "Promise." She assured with another prize-winning smile that made Tala forget his fears… for a second.

He looked back at Kai whom was already seated at the front of the canoe and putting on his life jacket. "I don't think I want to be at the front!" he said looking down at the water.

"You have to because the person at the back is the one who has most control." Mariam informed.

"I have to get at the front." Tala asked finally stepping in the seemingly sinking boat. He slowly moved to the front and sat in the seat shaking. His weight made the boat bob even more. Then he picked up the life vest and looked at it skeptically. "How do you put this on?" he asked.

"Just put it around you and buckle it up." Mariah instructed, but it didn't seem to help Tala who was struggling with just the putting it around him part. Mariah giggled and stepped into the canoe and walked up to Tala. She grabbed the life jacket, unclasped the front and put it around him so he could put his arms through it. "How **did** you get along with out your mother for so long?" Mariah laughed. "Can you buckle it up?" she teased.

Tala just rolled his eyes with a hint of a smile.

"Bye baby!" Jou and Moka shouted together.

"Mama!" Mariah shouted back, embarrassed, while sitting down.

"Ready boys?" Mariam asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Tala said, holding on tightly to the canoe sides. Then, they pushed off.

"O.k. I'm scared." Kai admitted, looking into the slowly darkening water. Mariam and Mariah giggled.

"Too late." They both said and started to paddle away. The trees over them seemed to reach out. They saw a few fish already.

"So, where are we going?" Tala asked to get his mind off the water.

"I don't know, there's a dock somewhere further down." She said. "We're in for another one of James's surprises. Get ready for a long ride." Mariah smiled. Tala slightly groaned before realizing he and Mariah were actually having a conversation. It made him slightly nervous, yet happy.

"Give your mom some slack. She's trying the best she can." Mariah said randomly, catching Tala off guard.

"Hu?" he asked, feeling stupid immediately after.

"Your mom. She really is trying." Mariah informed. "I didn't meet my mom until not even a year ago and we're already best friends. I know how embarrassing they can be, believe me, but that's just because they missed so much time with us that they don't know how to act." She explained.

Tala looked up at her as she put her hands inside of the canoe, letting it drift down stream. "Whoa, you're just going to let it go like that!" Tala exclaimed.

"Yep." Mariah said maintaining the serious face.

Tala sighed. "I like my mom, it's just… She can't just come tumbling back into my life like she never left in the first place." He said.

"Tala, do you even know why she gave you to Biovolt?" Mariah asked defensively.

Tala had never asked that. "No, I never really thought about it." He admitted.

"It's because she couldn't take care of you, Tala. She was 15 when she had you and had to quit school because her stupid, negligent parents and that thug father of yours didn't want to help her. She couldn't build a life for you. Our moms met in a maternal school when they were pregnant at the same time, which wasn't long because you're older than I am. They became friends. Anyway, when you were three your mom moved in with mine. That's when the coldest winter Russia had ever had came. Our parents couldn't pay the light bill, electric bill, food was running low and they didn't want us to live the way we did." Tala suddenly realized that his dream was no dream, but a moment in his past, it was real.

"So, why'd she give me to Biovolt?" he asked. "Why didn't I go where you went?"

Mariah had now started to paddle again seeing that Mariam and Kai were getting to far ahead. "She thought it was just a regular foster care. She had no idea what Boris was up to. As for me, I couldn't go there because it was a male's facility so I went to my daddy in China." She finished.

"Oh." Was all Tala could say. He had been giving his mom such a hard time when he didn't even know what she had been going through. "I had no idea." He said feeling bad.

"How could you have." Mariah said softly. "I didn't either." Then a wave of silenced passed over them. (Tala: I don't like waves either.) There was just the sound of the water sloshing against the paddles, the cool wind blowing the hovering, green trees and the occasional river bird singing or flapping its wings.

"I love nature. It just takes me away to my own little place." Tala smiled at the pink haired female looking around at the trees, unaware of his gaze. Then she looked back at him and seemed shocked. Then the 'O' her mouth formed slowly turned into a smile. Then she laughed.

Tala was confused before he heard a splashed from behind him and turned to see Kai and Mariam bobbing in the water and their canoe upside down. Then he started to laugh.

"Oh, Tala I know you ain't laughing!" Kai swam over to his best friend's boat and grabbed the side.

"Kai please, I'm sorry! Don't-" but before he could say another word Kai tipped over the boat.

The redhead came bouncing up gasping for air. "Kai I'm going to kill you!" they heard Mariah yell from behind them.

"Uh-oh." Kai said, swimming back to his canoe. After realizing that he wasn't going to drown, Tala started to laugh at Mariah. Her hair was down and sticking to her face and it just seemed funny to him.

"Oh, I see you're not afraid any more!" she yelled swimming over to Tala and dunking his head in the water only for him to come back up and shake his wet hair on her. They both laughed before getting back into their right side up canoe and paddling off.

"I guess the water isn't that bad." Tala smiled, daring to take off his life jacket so he could remove his soaked shirt that he forgot he had on. Mariah stole a glance at him while his head was covered by the shirt.

"That was fun, but now I'm freezing!" Mariah exclaimed as a wind passed by. Another laugh. Then silence…

"Hey, Mariah?" Tala asked. "May I ask you a question?" he said shyly with a light blush.

"Sure." She agreed.

"Promise you won't laugh." He smiled weakly.

"I can't promise that. I laugh easily." She admitted.

"Never mind." He shook his head.

"No, ask! I'll try not to laugh." That, she could promise.

"O.k." another shy blush came as he looked up at the trees. "W-Why… whydogirlshaveboobs (Why do girls have boobs?)?" he asked in a flash hoping that Mariah understood so he wouldn't have to say it a second time.

The pinkette thought for a moment before realizing what he said and failing to stifle a chuckle. "Sorry, I couldn't help it." She laughed a little more. "Well… so we can breast feed I guess."

"W-what's that?" he dragged out the 'what's'.

"Um…" Mariah struggled. "You know how cats feed their kittens?" she asked not wanting to explain the actual thing.

"You mean… milk… come…" this left many question mark over Tala head and on his face, but it was quickly replaced with a discussed look. "Ew…" he said immaturely.

"What do you mean 'ew'?! It's perfectly natural! It reduces the risk of a baby having heart disease. And that's how you were fed when you were born!" she said defensively.

"I was?!" the redhead asked shock.

"Yeah."

Tala thought long and hard about that, playing with different ideas, but not wanting to picture anything. Then he ask, "Well, how come when women get stranded in the desert they don't drink their… milk. Most die of thirst!"

"Because in order to produce milk you have to have been pregnant." Tala still had more questions, but they were now at the dock. Mariah smiled as Tala helped her out of the canoe.

Tala spotted Kai sitting down on a log, writing something. "Kai, you will not **believe** what I just learned." Tala exclaimed wide-eyed.

* * *

Well, I hope this long chapter made up for the long wait. And I hope you like the Tala and Mariah moment. Trust and believe that there will be more. And there will be more of the person Tala was talking to that morning. 

Please review!


	4. Offence

Jashomara: Thanks for waiting and reviewing!

Lady J: We're really sorry for not updating sooner. We were going to wait until we fixed the other chapters, but we decided to go ahead and update.

Jashomara: Yeah, we didn't wanna keep you guy/girls waiting any longer than we already did.

Disclaimer: We don't own beyblade.

* * *

_Camp Torture _

_After Noon_

_Hey, Tala's been writing about me in here! I feel so special! Mm… what should I write in Tala's diary. Oh, I'm Kai by the way. I stole Tala's diary while he wasn't looking. At the moment he's talking to Mariah… what's that all about? Oou-oou...-wink wink- _

_What does he mean Mariah's hot!? Is he just figuring that out!? I'm mean come on, we didn't even see her naked, she had on really short shorts and a tank top! I think love really hit him hard this time. -Chuckle chuckle- I feel like I'm in pre-school._

_Oh man! Tala's spotted me! He just said, "Kai, you will not believe what I just learned!" I wanna know what, so I'm going to stop writing now._

* * *

"Kai, why are you writing in my diary?" Tala asked walking up to the two-toned haired Russian whom vainly attempted to hide the book behind his back. 

"What won't I believe?" Kai asked changing the subject hoping Tala would just go along.

"Girls boobs are not only weapons of mass destruction or things for us guys to get distracted by, but they can also feed babies! How cool is that!?" Tala yelled excitedly.

All Kai could do was stare at his friend in disbelief. "Tala, don't tell me you just asked Mariah why girls had boobs."

"Yeah, why not?" his happy expression slowly faded away as he sat by his best friend.

"Tala..." he wanted to give Tala a lecture, but just couldn't find the words to express how he felt at the moment, so decided against it. "Never mind, there are bigger things to take care of. Your mom's over there telling baby stories." Kai said nodding his head toward the crowd of kids and the chaperones.

"Oh no." the redhead got up and started to walk over to the crowd. In doing so, he heard his mother talking.

"...So then, I wake up because I feel something warm and wet on my back, ya'll, Tala had took out his little wee-wee and was peeing on me, still fast asleep!" the crowd burst into laughter. Tala could have died right at that moment, his whole face went red. "He's always had a bed wetting problem and I could deal with that, but what I hated was, when he peed in the bed everything else **but** him gets wet!"

"Hey Tala!" Mariam looked up at him. "You still wanna be a mommy when you grow up?" she teased erecting new laugher in the crowd.

Tala had never felt his face get so hot before. This felt so unreal to him, it felt like he should be waking up or coming back down to earth or something. He wanted to run, but his feet wouldn't work. All he could do was stand there in complete embarrassment and stare at the ground.

"Jou, how could you!" the laughter stopped and everyone looked to the back of the crowd straight at Mariah.

"What is it, Mariah?" Jou asked completely calm.

"What is it? What is it?!" she yelled hysterically. "Don't you know the code of parent/chaperone? There will be no baby pictures, baby stories and most of all NO HOME VIDEOS!" the pinkette bellowed, saving Tala further embarrassment. "Parents!"

"But-"

"No buts! I'm pretty sure that everyone knows what it feels like to have their peers know their personal stuff and let me tell you... it ain't a good feelin'." she finished eyeing Jou.

"O.k. Mariah, no more baby stories." Jou said smiling widely, which left Mariah with a really bad feeling.

"Promise?" she asked, just to be safe.

"Promise." Jou vowed still smiling hard. Mariah eyed her for a couple more minutes. The black haired woman's smile never wavered. The pinkette kept her skeptical expression until she could no longer hold it.

"O.k., why are you smiling at me!?" she asked. The rest of the teens stayed attentive through this whole stare off praying that more embarrassment would come to surface.

"I just think it's really… sweet of you to take up for your boyfriend." She said smugly, getting some amused giggles from a few of the adolescents.

"Oh- WHAT!? Tala is **not **my boyfriend!" the pinkette defended trying to make it sound believable.

"Yeah right, Mariah! I saw you getting cozy with him in the canoe." Mariam entered the conversation raising and lowing her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I bet that's why you stayed back. You wanted to talk Tala into riding with you!" Ming-Ming accused her best friend. Mariah just stared, mortified, at her "best friends" in disbelief. "You wanted some alone time." She teased.

"That's not true!" Mariah folded her arms and tried hard not to blush, knowing Tala's gaze was on her. "Ya'll are so immature!" (Jash: Sorry, but that sentence needed 'ya'll'. It's not the country accent 'ya'll', it's the ghetto accent 'ya'll'.)

"You're the one with the crush and we're immature?" the bluenette walked up to her best friend.

"My little sister would never like someone like him! She has better standards." Lee jumped in, insulting Tala and not even realizing it.

"Lee…" Mariah sighed.

"What's that suppose to mean, ninja boy!?" the redhead yelled outraged, forgetting about the previous conversation. He really did have a one-track mind.

"It means, my sister needs someone worthy of her company, someone willing to protect her and give in to her needs, someone that is sane and has a brain that is bigger than an ant. In other words, not you." The Chinese teen may have gone over the top, but protective older brothers like to brag on their little "defenseless" sisters.

"Burn!" Bryan and Enrique yelled together.

"Come on, Tala! You're not going to let him bad mouth you, are you?!" the lavender haired teen prompted watching Tala proceed to walk up to the black haired teen.

Tala had every intention of punching the living daylights out of Lee, but James stepped up. "Boys we talked about this the other night. No fighting! Tala, that's your second offense."

"What?! He started it!" Tala yelled in his defense.

"But you're the one walking up to him like you want to fight." The red haired man gave his reason.

"I did!… Because he insulted me!"

"Well, were any of the things he said true?"

"No." Tala said glaring at the triumphant looking Lee.

"O.k. then. Have a seat." James finished, pointing to the log Kai was sitting on. After Tala stepped back James continued. "Now, seeing as we all got here safely, I take it everyone knows how to use a canoe. Now, at the end of this month, you are all going to have a relay race using the skills you learn during your time at camp. The team with the most skill, wins." He announced.

"Oh, cool! Our team is going to wipe the floor with the other guys!" Enrique yelled, punching a fist into the air.

"Yeah!" Bryan agreed with his best buddy.

"Well, Bryan, it just so happens that you are on my team." Moka said walking up to the lavender haired boy.

"R-really?" Bryan blushed slightly from the attention the young woman was giving him.

"And you're on my team, Enrique." James walked up to him. Suddenly Bryan and Enrique's face expression was horrified.

"So, you mean we're… on different teams!?" both boys shouted together.

"That's not fair! If we get separated then Kai and Tala can't be together either!" Bryan wined. Tala and Kai gave him a quick glare, remembering that the redhead was on a thin rope.

"They aren't." Jou said happily. "Here are the teams. For my team it's Mariah, Salima, Tyson, Max and Tala." She smiled at her son, whom just rolled his eyes and looked away much to her dislike.

"For my team it's Ray, Bryan, Ming-Ming, Hilary and Kai." Moka said patting Bryan's head, making him turn red all over.

_Man, why did Tala and Mariah have to have such hotties for moms?_ Bryan asked himself.

_Great, we get the girly-girls on our team. Just super._ Ray thought sarcastically. _Now I'll never be able to beat Tala's team. Mariah's on his team too, dang it._

"And for my team, Lee, Enrique, Mariam, Julia and Robert." James announced the rest of the names. "And now we are going to walk through the forest and I'm going to tell you about the plants and animals that inhabit it." A loud groan came from everyone in the group.

"Oh come on! I loved this kind of stuff when I was your age." The mother pinkette said, walking alongside James and Jou.

"When was that? Ten minutes ago?" Hilary whispered to Salima who laughed. The brunette made sure she whispered it loud enough so the youngest pinkette could hear. "I bet she was like 14 when she had Mariah. I wonder where her daddy went." Mariah, Mariam and Ming-Ming also heard this and the pinkette wasn't about to let it go.

"Hilary, I'm sure my mama is glad you know she's so young. Maybe she could give your mom some beauty tips. I saw those bags under her eyes when she was saying goodbye to you. Not cute, sweet heart." Mariah countered while glaring at the brunette and redhead in front of her.

"What'd you say pinky!?" Hilary and Salima turned to face the three.

"Why are you getting so angry, I was offering your mother help." Mariah said walking up to her.

"At least my mother has a husband and a real job!" Hilary yelled back ready to fight, hoping she didn't bite off more than she could chew.

Bryan had now noticed the argument. "It's about to be a what?!"

"Girl fight!" Enrique finished.

"Girls!" Jou yelled walking up to them.

"I'm sorry girls, but if you keep arguing like this, I'm going to have to send you home." James said strongly. "Mariah, Hilary, first offence." The pinkette just shook her head, knowing there was no use fighting it. The rest of the day was pretty normal. James talked even though nobody was listening, Moka and Jou caught up on old times while also pretending to be attentive, Enrique and Bryan continued to try and wow the girls with their smooth talk and the girls stayed in their separate groups glaring at the other.

Kai and Tala dragged along in the back like usual, muttering to each other whenever they found a worthy topic.

"So, you and Mariah?" the two toned haired boy raised and eyebrow.

"So, you and Mariam." Tala countered.

All Kai could do was glare at the superior looking Tala. "You win, this time Ivanov, just wait until tomorrow."

"What, what's happening tomorrow?" the redhead asked, confused.

"You'll see." Kai said in his cool sly way.

"They only said we'd be identifying fish and sea weed. I don't get it." The blue eyed teen was now curious to see what Kai was talking about.

_Torture Camp_

_Evening_

_Thought of the night: …_

_O.k. so there is no thought! I just can't figure out what Kai is planning for tomorrow! He makes it sound so evil! It has something to do with Mariah too. I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight because of this. He gave me no hint either. This sucks! Oh well, everyone is making smores and I have to stop Kai from "accidentally" dropping his flaming marshmallow on Tyson or "generously helping" Lee warm up by the fire… or in it._

_And there's been something going on with him lately. I think I know what it is, but I'm really hoping that I'm wrong…._

_Tala_.

* * *

O.k. I know it was short for such a long wait, but this story just doesn't seeming to have anything big about it. Tell me if I should continue or not. 


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